Paws
by Puppetjax
Summary: Meet Paws, a puppy that can only be described as different. Ostracized her whole life, meeting the Pound Puppies was a life-changing experience for her, but can the Pound Puppies even find a home for a puppy with such a repulsive appearance?


A puppy ran down a wet alleyway. She stopped when she tripped over her own legs. She looked behind her. There stood three other puppies, with irritated expressions on their faces. "When will you get it?" Asked one, rhetorically. "We don't want you with us!" Shouted another.

"I, well, I," she stuttered. "You don't belong here. In fact, you probably don't belong anywhere!" Said the other. "But, but I was just..." She continued. "You are not one of us. I'm not even sure you're a dog," one mocked. "Let's just leave this monster," replied the third. "Please," he replied. All of them walked back the way they came. She watched them leave. She lied down, shut her eyes and wanted to cry.

She stood back up when she heard a dog's footsteps. She got ready to run again, but the dog she saw was a grown-up and had white and purple fur. He was hastily walking toward her. "Hey, kid. Are you alright?" He asked. "Those three puppies. They weren't happening to be talking to you, were they?" Still sad, she replied with a nod. She looked down at the ground. "Well, what happened?" He asked her softly. "I don't want to talk about it," she said sadly. "That's okay. I'm Lucky." He replied. "My name is Paws," she said in a calmer manner. "Well, Paws, wanna come with me? I think I know a place that can help." Invited Lucky. "I have nothing better to do," she replied. "Then let's get going," he said happily. He ran and jumped onto the back of a parked garbage truck that was in the process of picking up a trash can. Paws quickly followed. Seeing that she couldn't jump on herself, Lucky picked her up and placed her next to him just as the truck was pulling away.

On the way, Lucky asked Paws a question. "Paws, have you ever wanted a human of your very own?" "It's my dream. I've always wanted someone to stay by my side, no matter what, no matter how, different, I am to some others." Before Lucky had a chance to ask her what she meant, she asked him a question. "So where are we going?" "A place that might be able to get you just that." They arrived at a dog pound where the truck stopped to empty the dumpster. After they got off the truck, Lucky had something to say. "Welcome, to Shelter 17, Paws." "Well, why are we here?" She asked. "This is the pound that I know can get you adopted." Answered Lucky. "What's so special about this place?" She asked. "You're about to find out," answered Lucky one last time.

"Follow me," said Lucky. Paws followed him into a kennel. "Alright, time to see what makes this place tick." He said as he flipped up a food bowl on the ground, revealing a hidden tunnel network. "After you." He said politely. Paws nervously jumped down the hole, followed by Lucky. He then shouted "Alright, I'm back, gang!" Then, four other dogs emerged from the tunnels. "I have someone I want you to meet." He continued. "Everyone, this is Paws. Paws, this is Cookie, Strudel, Squirt, and Niblet." He said, pointing at a boxer, a dachshund, a chihuahua, and a sheepdog respectively. "Hi, Paws!" They greeted her in unison.

"I found her in an alleyway after the mission," explained Lucky. "Say, what was an adorable little creature like you doing in an alleyway?" Asked Cookie. Paws stuttered half an answer "Well, um, you see," Lucky crouched in front of her before she could say anything else. "Why don't you have a look around while us grown-ups have a meeting?" He said. "Well, okay," Paws replied. She walked off slowly. She stopped in the middle of a big room and looked around while Lucky and the others went through a tunnel. Suddenly, she heard laughter coming from above.

Paws climbed up out of the hole and onto the ground. She discovered three puppies playing with a red rubber ball. One was gray, one was brown, and one was black and white. She walked cautiously toward them. Suddenly, one said "Hey!" It was the gray one. "I don't think I've seen you before." She talked in a loud, obnoxious tone. "That also must mean that you haven't seen me before, which also must mean you don't know my name, and I don't know yours." Paws sat down and waited for her to be finished. "I'm Rebound, and this is Cupcake, and this is Patches and we are part of a group called The Super Secret Pup Club and we're going to have so much fun!" She said pointing to the brown and then the black and white puppies respectively. "Don't worry about Rebound. She's always like that." Said Cupcake. "So, you're new? What's your name?" She asked. "I'm Paws," she answered. "Really? Why do they call you that?" Asked Rebound. Paws grew worried and took a few steps back, almost as if she was hiding something. "Uh, actually," she started to say. Just then, as if saved by the bell, Lucky poked his head out from the hole. "Paws, would you mind coming down for a second? We all want to talk to you." Paws obeyed and jumped down the hole again, leaving the Pup Club alone. "What do you think that was about?" Asked Cupcake. "Well, let's go down there and find out," responded Patches. "Super Secret Pup Club, Go!" They chanted in unison. They each hopped down the hole one by one.

Paws and the others were gathered together. Once Paws sat down, Lucky began to ask questions. "I want to know what happened between you and those three pups back there, the complete truth." He said calmly but sternly. "It's kinda hard to explain," said Paws, unsurely. "Just do your best, honey." Said Cookie. Paws began to speak.

"Alright. I have always wanted to fit in somewhere. I wanted somewhere where I didn't have to worry about what people would think of me. I started looking for friends, but every time I joined one of their games, I get the same reaction every time. Outcast, Monster, whatever, but I never had a real friend before. That's when I met those guys. After I tried introducing myself, of course, same reaction." "Although, judging by their responses, that's not your first run-in with those pups," asked Lucky. "No," Paws responded. She continued "I found them on the sidewalk one day, so I decided to talk to them, to start off on the right foot. They yelled and got really mad. I panicked and ran into the alleyway." "Are you sure you're not just shy?" Said Niblet. "'Cause you're kinda quiet. Seriously. Talk more." "Hey, you big goofball, can't you see we're trying to solve that mystery right now?" Yells Squirt.

"I have one more question." Said Lucky. "You keep mentioning yourself being different, or strange, but what exactly are you afraid of people seeing? How are you different?" He asked. "Yeah. What exactly about you is so absurd that can cause you to be classified as an outcast?" Asked Strudel. Everyone was eventually shouting the same question. "Come on, tell us!" They kept saying. "Alright fine, you win!" She shouted suddenly. Everyone calmed down. "Do you want to know why they call me 'Paws?'" She asked rhetorically. Before she could finish, there was an interruption.

"Hey, wh- wh- wh-, holy cow!" Interjected Squirt. "I think I know now!" Paws tried to flee the situation, but Squirt grabbed her front leg before she could escape. "She has four toes on each of her paws!" He shouted. Everyone was surprised. "Is this, what you were talking about this whole time?" Asked Lucky. Paws curled up into as tight a space as she could, trying to hide her paws, and gently nodded yes. "I've never seen anything like it," said Strudel. "What happened to my 4th toes"!?" Shouted Niblet. "You never had them!" Responded Squirt. "No one does! Don't you all get it? She is a monster. Get out of our pound, you creep!" He continued. "Squirt, knock it off, now!" Demanded Lucky. Everyone grew silent. Lucky turned to talk to Paws, but she had disappeared.

After a long while of searching, Lucky finally found Paws hiding in Strudel's lab. "What's wrong, kiddo?" He asked her gently. "Nothing. Why would anything be wrong? I'm used to this." She responded. Lucky wouldn't give up. "We are the Pound Puppies, and it is now our sworn job to get you liked, and give you a place." He stated. "And how exactly are you going to do that?" Questioned Paws. Lucky answered confidently "By getting you your very own human."

The five members told Paws to wait on the surface while they have another meeting. "Poor kid. She couldn't get a human because she was too shy, and she's too shy because she's afraid of showing her true self." Lucky explained. "To tell you the truth, I don't know how we're even gonna do this, Lucky." Said Cookie. Lucky started taking charge. "I'll tell you how. Strudel, activate the printer." She obeyed. "We're making sure everyone on the block knows about Paws."

A little while later, they had a hundred posters announcing a new puppy arrival. "Squirt, Niblet, Strudel, hang those posters around town. I'll let Paws know what's going on." Lucky commanded. Everyone quickly obeyed. After the three left, Lucky and Cookie went to the surface to find Paws.

Upon resurfacing, they found the Pup Club with Paws, asking her questions with no end. "Is that why your name is Paws?" "How does that feel? Do you trip a lot?" It was obvious thst they were really overwhelming her, because she was laying with her paws over her ears. Lucky walked over to them. "Excuse me, pups, can we have a moment alone with Paws here?" Asked Lucky. "Certainly," the Pup Club said in unison. They went down the hole to the tunnels.

"Paws, pretty soon, your person is bound to walk through those doors. Come on, stand up." She stood up. "The first person should be arriving right about...now." When Lucky said that, a happy girl looking for a dog came skipping through the gate. "Are you here for a dog?" Asked Olaf to the girl. "You bet," replied the girl. "Come on, I'll show you where they are." Olaf guided the girl toward the kennel. "This is it kid. Just remember to be yourself. Don't be afraid to." Lucky and Cookie hid from view as the girl was arriving. She looked upon the one puppy in the kennel. Paws looked at the girl. "OMG! If I adopt you, we will spend so much time together!" Shouted the girl. "We'll talk and I'll brush your hair, and it'll be so much fun!" Paws whimpered and backed away slowly. "Not the social kind, huh?" Asked the girl. "That's too bad." She walked out of the pound with a different mood than when she came in. Next comes a boy also looking for a dog. Olaf showed the kennel to the guest, and he walked over. He looked at Paws. "Hey, you're pretty cute," he said to her. Paws stood up and leaned against the fence near the boy. He saw her paws and quickly changed his mind. "Uh, actually, I thought I came to a dog pound." He said as he walked away. The rest of the kids were pretty much a rinse-and-repeat routine of the two reactions.

Once all seemed to be through, a new person hasn't come in for a half an hour, they decided to call it a day. Paws started to get uneasy. "Maybe those three guys were right. Maybe I am just an outcast that nobody wants." She said to Lucky and Cookie. She lifted one of her paws to look at it in dismay. "You know, us Pound Puppies have a saying: a pup for every person, and a person for every pup." Said Cookie to her. "I refuse to let you go unadopted. You are a puppy dog that deserves all the love and compassion a human can give, not a monster or an outcast." "Not once did a person want Paws?" Lucky mumbled to Cookie. "Poor girl, she's shier than a moose during hunting season, Lucky. I don't think there's anything we can do about that." Cookie said back. "Actually, there is." He said. "Paws, follow me, would you?" He asked her. She got up and followed Lucky and Cookie down the hole and into Strudel's lab. Cookie called Strudel. "Strudel! We need a plan B." She said. "I've got it!" Said Strudel. "It turns out that I have this old scalpel and..." Before Strudel could finish, Lucky interrupted. "Or, we can use the FKD." "Oh, yeah, that sounds a lot better than what I had in mind." Said Strudel.

Lucky called Paws into the lab. "This is the Free Kid Database, or FKD, Paws." Explained Strudel. "What does it do?" Asked Paws. "This machine finds your perfect person by taking attributes of your personality." Said Strudel. She turned the machine on. "Go on and tell it what you are looking for." Instructed Strudel. The only thing she said was "I just want a person whoJaJasonands me; that knows what it feels like to be rejected." The FKD beeped and read the information of the kid it browsed. "Jason, age 15. Has many talents but are often unappreciated from his lack of ability to fit in."

"He sounds perfect," said Paws. "What if I arrange for you to be able to meet him? It sounds like he could use a best friend, too." Suggested Lucky. "Really?" Asked Paws with a smile on her face. "Immediately." He responded. "Strudel, do you have the home address printed?" He asked. "Yes, sir!" She responded. "Come on, Paws, we're taking you to your perfect person." Said Lucky. Paws obeyed with excitement. "Niblet, Squirt, Cookie, all of you come too." Said Lucky again. They got back together and left the pound.

When they were almost there, there was a disturbance. "Hey, watch who you're dealing with!" Said an unknown voice. "Everybody, look, it's Jason!" Exclaimed Cookie. There was one boy sitting on a street median with three boys holding three puppies standing in front of him. "Those are the same puppies as before!" Said Paws, surprised. "You will never be one of us," said one. "You don't belong anywhere, do you?" Said another. "That's even the same stuff they said to me!" Said Paws again. After the boys were done yelling at him, Jason sat alone and sad.

Paws turned around. "Thanks for everything, you guys." She said. "One more thing before you go," said Lucky. Strudel placed a collar with a silver tag around Paws's neck. "Once a pound puppy, always a pound puppy!" They recited in unison. "Thank you! I will never forget this!" Said Paws. Squirt walked up to her. "Hey, uh, Paws? I'm real sorry about the things I said back there. You're a real neat kid." He said. "All is forgiven." She said back. "Now go on and make a kid happy." Instructed Lucky. She smiled and ran to Jason, barking.

The pound puppies watched the whole time. "Hey, where did you come from?" Said Jason. He picked Paws up. He saw her paws when he did. "What's with your paws? It's cool. I bet you've been ostracized just as much as I have for that, huh?" he said to her. Jason's mom opened the front door. "Who is that?" She asked. "Mom, can I keep her?" Jason asked. "I don't see why not." She responded. "By the way, your test results are in. Your Asperger's Syndrome is getting better this year." His mom said. "That's great," Jason responded. He got up, picked up Paws and brought her in his house.


End file.
